I am sorry to hear that you have experienced all of these issues. When you are in the hospital they will use Heparin as it gives them a lot of flexibility to treat you, do a procedure or rush you to surgery if it were to become necessary. However if you were to have a reaction to Heparin, known as HIT or HITTS, then they will typically use Argatroban. Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a potentially serious, immune-mediated complication of heparin therapy that is strongly associated with subsequent venous and arterial thrombosis. Argatroban does not interact with heparin-induced antibodies and is capable of inhibiting the action of both free and clot-associated thrombin. It works in a similar manner as Heparin except that it is a synthetic direct thrombin inhibitor.

For example, if you were to need a percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, argatroban has been shown to be more effective at inhibiting the generated thrombin and prevent antithrombin consumption during and after the procedure. Either of the above drugs can be used either as a short-term or long-term therapy. They are administered in an IV format while in the hospital.

When you are sent home you could be put on Warfarin, Lovenox, Arixtra, Aspirin, or Plavix. You could be put on a combination of these types of drugs depending on what caused your conditions. If you have a platelet issue that caused your heart attack and stroke then you will probably be put on Plavix and an Aspirin. If you have a blood disorder that caused you issues then you will typically be put on Warfarin, a pill, or Lovenox or Arixtra, both injectables. Warfarin has a lot of issues. A lot of people have difficulty maintaining their INR between 2 and 3. The more difficulty that you have maintaining your INR the more often that you have to be tested as you will have to change the dosage of the Warfarin to maintain your INR level. Food is also a big issue with Warfarin. There are two camps concerning food. One requires you to reduce the amount of green vegetables that you eat. The other says to eat as much as you want and they will increase the Warfarin dosage to keep you within the correct INR range. If you don’t want to deal with all of the food issues and the INR testing you can request that you be prescribed either Arixtra or Lovenox. Each of these medications is an injectable for subcutaneous use. Lovenox is known as a Low Molecular Weight Heparin (LMWH). The only down side to this medication especially if you are female is that with long term use of LMWH it causes osteoporosis. Arixtra is a Factor Xa inhibitor (anticoagulant). It is a synthetic drug so you do not have the issue with osteoporosis as you do with LMWH. I have used this medication for years.

I would NOT be going to a GP with the type of conditions that you are asking about. You need to be seen by a Hematologist AND a Cardiologist. A GP’s purpose is to be the quarterback/coordinator between all of your specialty doctors and take care of your overall health. A GP should not be the lead for the conditions that we are talking about here. Hope this helps and best wishes.